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“This is Jana Wilson. I’m returning your call,” Jana said halfheartedly. This was the phone call she’d been dreading for weeks. What could her dead ex-husband’s attorney possibly want from her – other than the keys to the Alfa, which was most likely still in her ex’s name?
“Hi, Ms. Wilson. This is Josie Keener. Mr. Davis asked me to call you...”
“Jimmy?” she asked. Jimmy Davis was Jana’s ex-husband’s partner at the firm.
“Uh, yes, Jimmy Davis. He needs you to come to the office and talk with him. Could I set up an appointment for you to come in?”
“Can I ask what’s it’s about?”
“I’m sorry, I don’t have any details. I’m his legal assistant. He said it was important, and you needed to come into the office as soon as possible.”
“Can I talk to Jimmy? I’d like to know why I need to come in.”
“I’m sorry, he’s with a client. Could you come in at eleven o’clock?”
Jana reluctantly agreed and ended the call.
Jana stuck her head into Miss Jana’s engine room, where Reymundo was busy siphoning the oil out of one of the twenty-kilowatt generators. “Hi, am I interrupting?”
“Never. I’m always happy to see you.”
“I just got off the phone with my ex’s office. I need to go in at eleven today.”
“You want me to come along?”
“I don’t know. If they want the 4C, you may have to come to get me.”
“Take my car.”
Jana laughed. “I should, but it would only delay the inevitable.”
“They didn’t tell you why they wanted you to come in?”
“No, I talked to some chick who said she was an assistant. I’ll be meeting with one of my ex’s partners. I know him well. He’s a good guy.”
“You don’t want me to go with you? I can at least give you some moral support if needed.”
“Nah. Have your phone close and be ready if I need you to pick me up.”
Reymundo checked his watch. “No problem. I should be done with this in an hour. I’ll shower and be waiting for your call.”
“I love you, but stay back. You’re all sweaty and greasy.”
“No hug and kiss?” Reymundo opened his arms and made a smooching sound. Jana closed the engine room door.
It was a few minutes before eleven o’clock in the morning when Jana Wilson pulled into the parking lot of the four-story building. The sign out front read “Baker Smith Wilson.” Her ex was not the Wilson on the sign, although he was a senior partner. Jana turned off the engine and patted the dash of her two-seater sports car. “I hope I see you again, my little friend. If not, it’s been fun.” She then walked into the lobby of the second-largest law firm in Florida.
Jana wore the flowered sundress with spaghetti straps she was wearing when she met Reymundo. If her wardrobe had not been limited to the few outfits she had on the boat, she’d have still worn the sundress. She considered it her lucky dress.
The cute receptionist told Jana someone would be with her in a minute. Jana wondered if her ex had hired her. She looked like his type.
Another young, attractive female soon approached Jana. “Miss Wilson? Hi, I’m Josie, Mr. Davis’ assistant. Thank you for coming.”
“No problem,” Jana said.
“Jana,” the booming voice said as Josie opened the door to James Davis’ office and escorted her inside. “It’s been a long time. How are you?” James gave Jana a tender hug and a light kiss on the cheek.
“I’m doing okay. It’s been a crazy month. I won’t bore you with the details.”
“I’m very sorry about Robert. I know you weren’t together when he died, but he was your husband.”
Jana resisted the urge to repeat what she’d said to Reymundo when she learned of her ex’s death. “Thanks, Jimmy,” she said, “but it was over, as you probably know.”
“Yes, I know. For what’s it’s worth, in my opinion, letting you get away was the dumbest thing he ever did.” James Davis looked down and back up at Jana’s piercing blue eyes. “I’m not comfortable talking about it, but Rob would talk about you – I won’t go into details – but, well, let’s put it this way, he was my friend, but I came damn close to punching him. Several times. I’m not sure why I didn’t. It was bad enough what he was doing to you, but telling me about it was reprehensible. If half of what he said was true, I sure as hell don’t blame you for leaving him.”
It seemed to be a rhetorical comment. Jana didn’t want to talk about it and didn’t reply. In all her days of taking her clothes off and dancing for strange men, she’d never been as embarrassed as she was at that moment.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought it up. Again, I’m so sorry.”
Jana couldn’t look at Jimmy. “It’s okay,” she said softly.
“How much do you know about Robert’s affairs?”
Jana looked James Davis in the eye. First, he told her he knew the shit her ex did to her, and now he’s asking if she knew about his affairs. “I know he fucked every skirt he could. So you want a number? Maybe a zillion. What does this have to do with me?”
“Oh God,” he said. “I’m sorry, Jana. I meant legal affairs. Poor choice of words. Forgive me?”
Jana laughed, almost as embarrassed about what she said as she was about what the lawyer had said. Almost. “We’re off to a hell of a start, aren’t we, Jimmy?”
“Looks that way. My fault. You weren’t wrong, you know.”
“About?”
“His other affairs. I won’t bring it up again, but something was wrong with that man. He had the most amazing wife – that’s coming from a happily married man – and he couldn’t keep his pants zipped up. He was always looking for someone younger. I met a few. They were younger, but they weren’t prettier. I never understood it.”
“Some guys are like that. I should’ve known, considering where we met.”
“Where was that?”
“You don’t know?”
“No, I don’t recall him ever saying.”
“Can we change the subject? Not that I’m not having a blast listening to you rehash what my ex did to me, but is that why I’m here?”
“No, Jana, it’s not. Again, I apologize for opening old wounds.” The lawyer picked up a pile of papers and placed them on the desk in front of him. “I’m guessing Rob didn’t talk much about his legal affairs.”
“No, not really. He may have, but honestly, I wasn’t too interested.”
“What about finances? Did he discuss those with you?”
Jana shook her head. “I was on the checking account, but I don’t know if I ever wrote a check. He took care of all the bills. I wouldn’t have known how much money was in the account if I needed to write a check.”
“You got a check for seventy-five thousand dollars. Is that correct?”
“Yes. I loved the boat, and he said it was mine, but it was in his name. He said he’d sell it, and I’d get the proceeds. That’d be all I’d get in the divorce. I’d signed a prenup. If I didn’t take it, he said he’d make sure I didn’t get shit. He’s one of the top lawyers in the state, right? How could I fight it? The boat’s worth a quarter million. I figured seventy-five thousand was better than nothing. I couldn’t afford a lawyer to fight him.”
“Unfortunately, you’re right. You could’ve found a lawyer, but Rob was a brilliant attorney. I’ll give him credit for that. It’s the only thing I’ll give him credit for. By the time it was all said and done, you wouldn’t have come out any better – probably worse off.”
“The reason you’re here...” he opened one of the folders on his desk, “is this.” He handed the document to Jana.
“Our divorce papers.”
“Correct. Look at the bottom.”
Jana stared at the document. “They’re not signed.”
“Nope, they are not.”
“What does this mean?”
“Well, you’re a widow, not a divorcée.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes, ma’am. You signed the papers and dropped them off the day after he took some young hottie with augmented breasts to Tahiti. One of those all-inclusive resorts on Bora Bora. It was a two-week trip that turned into three that turned into a month.”
“She must’ve been good to keep him interested that long. No doubt she was willing to do things I wouldn’t do.”
“Miss Wilson. Tsk-tsk-tsk.”
“Sorry, Jimmy. Continue.”
“They flew home, jumped in his Porsche, were speeding down I-75, lost control, hit a bridge. The investigators said they died instantly.”
“Wow.” It was the second time she’d heard the description of the accident, but for some reason, this one affected her. Maybe because they didn’t mention someone had been with him the first time.
“Being Rob’s attorney, I settled with the woman’s family. His insurance covered it.”
“That’s nice. I kind of feel sorry for her.” Jana stared out the window briefly then looked back at Jimmy. “You’re saying I’m a widow, not a divorcée. Does it make a difference?”
Jimmy leaned back in his oversize leather executive chair. “A little.”
“Oh?”
He rocked forward, picked up the stack of documents and dropped them on Jana’s side of the desk. “You were still married at the time of his death. He hadn’t changed his will. You’re the sole beneficiary of the late Robert Wilson’s estate. You were never removed from his insurance policies, either.”
“Seriously?” Jana laughed. “That...mother...fucker. This means I get to keep my car, right?”
“The car? What car?”
“The Alfa Romeo 4C he gave me. I just assumed it was in his name, and you called me here to get it back.”
James Davis burst out laughing. “He did like sports cars. I didn’t even know he bought you an Alfa. It wasn’t on the asset list. It must be in your name.”
“What’s so funny?”
“Jana, not only do you keep your car, you now own a Ferrari, partial interest in a Ferrari 250 GTO, a Bentley, a Ford GT40, a Porsche SUV, and several other cars. He wrecked the 911.”
“I didn’t even know he had all those cars.”
“Didn’t you ever look in the garage of your house?”
“Yeah, but most of the cars were covered, even in the garage. Speaking of the house, is my stuff still in it? I’d like to get it if I could.”
“Jana, you’re not grasping what I’m telling you. The house is yours. Everything he had is now yours. Everything but the 250 GTO. You only own a fourth of it.”
“Why only a fourth?”
“It’s a forty-million-dollar car. Even Rob couldn’t afford it outright. He went in with some investors and bought it. It’s worth closer to fifty million now.”
“Fifty million? For a car?”
Jimmy laughed. “You have no idea what he was worth, what you’re worth, do you?”
“No, I haven’t a clue.”
“When all is said and done, the estate is worth about a hundred million dollars, give or take a million. No federal estate tax either. Spousal inheritance is tax-free.”
“That...mother...fucker.”
“I’ve got a stack of documents for you to sign. Since you’re the sole beneficiary, we probated the will and changed what we could to your name. Rob had a million-dollar life policy that has not been paid. The firm had a half-million-dollar policy on him. That has been paid, and the funds deposited in your account. Various investment accounts have all been transferred into your name. We used Jana Wilson. You have not changed it have you?”
Jana was barely able to shake her head.
“Good. We have a few more items. One is our bill. Please let me explain. There was an inordinate amount of legal work involved with his estate. We did it and tried to keep the fees minimal, but it was a huge number of hours.”
“Honestly, I don’t care too much about it. If you say it’s fair, I believe you. I trust you. What else?”
“Rob was a partner in the firm. We’ve discussed it and agreed that one-million-two-hundred-fifty thousand is a fair buyout amount. Of course, you can hire an attorney to check the value.”
“Jimmy, if you say it’s fair, that’s fine with me.”
“I’m glad to hear you say that. I want you to know I had...I have your best interest at heart. I’d like to continue to be your attorney too. You’ll likely need one.”
“Thanks, Jimmy. Sure. I...I’m stunned right now.”
“I bet you are. Go home. Let it sink in. Oh, yeah.” He handed Jana a slip of paper, “This is the code to the front door. We needed in. We had a locksmith get in and change the lock. Any questions for me?”
“Yeah, how’d he make so much money?”
“He was a clever man. He brokered many large deals. There’s a fine line between legal trading and insider trading. I won’t say he crossed the line, but he sure tiptoed around it a few times. He got in on numerous initial public offerings, made a ton on those and other investments. I remember him buying ten-thousand shares of Amazon fifteen years or more ago. I said he was crazy. He...you still own those shares. That’s twenty-five million of your estate.”
“Wow. I can’t believe this. He was worth over a hundred million dollars, and he sold the boat cheap, so he’d only have to give me seventy-five. I know he was your friend and a partner, but he was a real motherfucker.”
“Jana, I couldn’t agree with you more.” He handed her a large brown envelope. “All the documents are in here. Brokerage accounts, bank accounts, and such. If you need help getting access, let me know. I’ll help. You need anything, give me a call.”
“Jimmy, I appreciate all you’ve done. I’m still speechless. I honestly thought you were going to take my car.”
James Davis walked her to the door of the building and held it open as she walked out. “Don’t forget, feel free to call me anytime. My cell number is in the envelope.”
“Thanks, Jimmy, I will.” Jana walked to her car. After pressing the start button, she began to quiver. She slapped her hands against the car seat several times in rapid succession and looked skyward. “You motherfucker.”